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Trees infested with the emerald ash borer are now being removed by the city’s forestry services department.

The ash borer is a shiny green insect that gets under the bark and kills all species of ash trees.

In July 2008 it surfaced in Ottawa .

Over the next six weeks approximately 700 of the city’s 75,000 ash trees will be removed from 23 different city properties.

Selected trees are being protected and injected with a biological pesticide but the ones with a red X are goners.

And it comes with a price tag.

“We’ve put in an estimate of about $450,000 for (the ash borer infestation) this year and that will help deal with some of the removal costs as well as increasing the amount of injection we can do in the neighbourhoods,” said forestry services manager David Barkley.

The ash borer is most commonly spread when infested firewood, branches, and chips are moved by people.

Maple trees are being planted to replace some of the infested ash trees.

The bottom line of that invoice is $1.2 million.

“The dollar figure for the final removal across the city is in the tens of millions so that’s what we’re trying to avoid right away,” said councillor Maria McRae.